Online portal cutting red tape for small business

Starting a food and beverage business is now a piece of cake thanks to an online, ‘one-stop-shop’ portal that’s also helping new residential construction companies nail their regulatory requirements.

Business Launchpad now covers 93 per cent of Queensland and takes a lot of the red tape and guesswork out of setting up a business.

Minister for Employment and Small Business Di Farmer said the Palaszczuk Government was committed to making it easier to do business in Queensland.

“During my Small Business Roadshow earlier this year, I spoke to thousands of businesses across Queensland,” Minister Farmer said.

“One of the concerns raised with me was that starting a new business can be confusing and time consuming, particularly in making sure you’ve ticked all the different regulatory boxes.

“That’s why the new Business Launchpad offers a one-stop shop online tool for small businesses to easily locate that required action list, instead of having to search multiple websites from a range of government agencies.

“We’ve consolidated the licences, permits and other important regulatory information from all three levels of government and a prefill tool saves having to repeatedly enter the same information each time you start a new application.”

Business Launchpad currently provides regulatory and licensing information for the residential construction and food and beverage sector in more than 30 different local government areas, with more industries to be brought online next year.

Ipswich City Council Mayor Teresa Harding said the Business Launchpad was a great opportunity to build on the work regional Councils were already doing to actively support small business in Queensland.

“The Business Launchpad will reduce red tape, which means less time spent finding and filling out forms and giving business owners more time to get on with running a new small business,” Mayor Harding said.

“Small businesses play a huge part in the Queensland economy and this initiative will help small businesses kickstart ideas into reality by making the process easier.”

Minister Farmer said a key focus of the Big Plans for Small Business Strategy 2021-2023 was doing business better.

“We know cutting red tape and connecting businesses with the right information at the right time is so important to their overall success,” the Minister said.

“It’s why we established the Queensland Small Business Commissioner as a permanent office to collaborate with the Office of Productivity and Red Tape Reduction and find practical solutions.

“We’ve also welcomed 24 councils to our Small Business Friendly program in a further commitment to red tape reduction and opportunities for small business.

“The Business Launchpad is another way we are making it easier to start and run a business here in Queensland.”

Current Launchpad operators include Bundaberg, Cairns, Diamantina Shire, Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Logan, Mackay, Moreton Bay, Noosa, Redland City, Scenic Rim and Sunshine Coast Councils.

New locations are frequently released as services are expanded across Queensland.

For more information visit https://launchpad.business.qld.gov.au/ or contact the Small Business Hotline on 1300 654 687.

ENDS

Media contact:        Ben Brew       0468 839 551